David Torrence (athlete)

David Torrence (born 26 November 1985) is an elite American middle-distance runner and the current indoor American record holder in the 1000 meters. Born in Okinawa, Japan, Torrence was raised in Tarzana, California. After graduating from Loyola High School in 2003, he went on to run for UC Berkeley and graduated in 2008. He currently runs for Hoka One One.^[1]

High school career

Torrence ran cross country and track at Loyola High School in Los Angeles, California. During his junior year, he ran PBs of 2:01 in the 800m, 4:35 in the 1600m, and 10:01 in the 3200m. He improved significantly during his senior year, setting PBs in all three of those distances and winning state titles. His PBs at the end of high school were 1:58 in the 800m, 4:11 in the 1600m, and 9:05 in the 3200m. He led his team to a state and CIF cross country title while placing 3rd in the 1600m at the California state meet in track. By the end of the year, he ranked in the top ten in the state in both the 1600m and the 3200m.

College career

In college, Torrence competed for UC Berkeley. In his cross country season in 2003, he placed 44th at the Pac-10 Championships and 73rd at the NCAA West Regional with times of 28:28 and 31:36, respectively. In 2004, he won the Junior National Championships in the 1500m, qualifying for the World Junior Championship. There, he set the UC Berkeley freshman record in the 1500m with a time of 3:43.62.^[2] At the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in 2006 he ran a 4:07.55 in the mile. In his final year of cross country, he made the All-West Region, finishing 13th at the West Regional. This qualified him for the NCAA Championships in which he placed 92nd out of 250. He had an outstanding final track season at Berkeley, setting personal bests at multiple distances. He set the mile record at the school with a 3:58.62 at the California Collegiate Challenge. He PRed in the 800m at the Pac-10 Championships with a 1:49.87, the 1500m at the USA Championships with a 3:40.8, the 3000m at the Big Meet with a 8:16.63, and the 5000m at the Stanford Invitational with a 13:59.65.

Professional career

Success came for Torrence shortly after leaving college. He won the USA Road Mile championships in 2009, and would go on to win it again twice more in the two years after.^[3]

In 2012, he won the Falmouth Mile with a time of 3:55.79. Later that year, he set a PB in the mile at the Pre Classic with a 3:52.01, making him the fastest American that year in the mile.

His 2013 season got off to a late start due to an injury but, despite this, he was still able to have a successful year. He set some personal bests late in the outdoor track season but set his sights on the American record in the road 5k. At the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot, he finished with a 13:33, shy of the 13:24 record.^[4]

Torrence had a record setting indoor season in 2014, setting the American Record for the indoor 1000m, the World Record in the indoor 4x800 and also running under the previous American Record in the 2000m, although Bernard Lagat was able to run even faster that same race and take the record. Torrence split a 3:36 1500 meters in the 4x1500 meters at the IAAF World Relays on May 25, 2014 to help USA finish 2nd to Kenya.

After previously running under Nike, on November 25, 2014 it was announced that he had signed with Hoka One One.^[5]

Personal records

• 800m - 1:45.14
• 1000m - 2:16.76(ind)(AR)
• 1500m - 3:33.23
• Mile - 3:52.01(track), 3:52.4h(road)
• 3000m - 7:40.78
• 5000m - 13:16.53

References